


Already Half Way There

by navaan



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Community: wintercompanion, Ficlet, Immortality, M/M, Matchmaking, Romance, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 10:17:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4056316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara Oswald playing matchmaker on the Doctor and Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Already Half Way There

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [](http://wintercompanion.livejournal.com/profile)[wintercompanion](http://wintercompanion.livejournal.com/) 2015 prompt fest and originally posted [here](http://wintercompanion.livejournal.com/245333.html).

The Doctor doesn't recognize it, but Clara sees it clearly the moment they stumble on Jack Harkness on an Imperial space station.

Jack is good for him.

They are both impossibly old, have led impossible lives. They are also different, challenging each other constantly with their differences. They are perfect matches.

And it's painstakingly obvious that Jack loves the Doctor.

“How long has it been for you?” Clara asks him. “Not seeing him?”

Jack only smiles sadly. “It doesn't really matter, Clara. Every day beyond a human life I live is because once I met the Doctor. He's always there. Sometimes I think of him and sometimes I don't. But I never forget how I came to be here.”

It's such a cheesy thing to say and he delivers it with a matching smile. It's infectious.

“That one,” Clara says and moves her head to indicate the Doctor who is busy with the Tardis, “he's grumpy and annoying. He needs people to stand up to him.”

“Oh?” Jack says. “Isn't that just a simple constant with him?”

And Clara grins. She's had such a hard time to see it in the beginning when the Doctor newly regenerated into this new old man. But Jack can see it right away. The Doctor is still the Doctor to him. That's exactly what he needs, her grumpy old man-child. Someone who sees beyond it all right to his core.

* * *

“We could pick up Jack on Delaware VI,” she proposes.

“He's busy.”

“He's never too busy for you,” she points out.

The Doctor's gaze settles on her and he frowns. “ _I'm_ busy, Clara.”

“You always say that. You have a time machine, you silly alien you.”

“That's the problem with you people! See something amazing like a Tradis and see it only as potential for visiting friends.”

“Not friends,” Clara says and grins wider. “Lovers.”

“Please tell me you haven't fallen for his good looks and charm, Clara. You're smarter than that. At least you are sometimes. And the PE might be disappointed. But who am I kidding? You're best years are past and you need to think about...”

“Hello? My best years are so not past. You're the one who should think about finding someone, before it's too late. Who'll take you if you're being like this?”

His eyebrows quirk into that pronounced frown that usually means that he has no idea what she's even talking about.

She smiles. Let him figure that one out himself.

He's smart after all. At least he is sometimes.

* * *

Jack travels with them for a while, leaves them on a human colony that needs to be rebuilt, meets them again on the moon of Omega Mel.

“You have a time travel device,” Clara realizes.

Jack holds up his arm for her to see. “Vortex Manipulator. New one. The Doctor gave it to me.”

“Did he now?” she asks with a grin. The Doctor is looking at her darkly and she nearly giggles.

It's so cute of the Doctor to give out presents to the person he likes. Very traditional in a messed up Time Lord way. Really cute.

Not that she'd ever tell him to his face.

* * *

Jack dies to save Clara on an Armarbordian Space Ship. He dies in her arms and although she knows it's not the end she can barely keep herself from crying.

But it's the Doctor who pulls his body up and together with her, drags him to the Tardis.

“That was silly,” he says and ignores the two of them for a long time, even after Jack comes back to life with a gasp.

* * *

It's subtle changes that alert Clara to the fact that things are changing: Jack is allowed to fly the Tardis. He doesn't get barked at when he touches the Doctor, hand on shoulder, hand on the small of his back.

It's like a dance.

The Doctor doesn't seem surprised when they find Jack on the next little planet, stumble across him in 12th century France or on a 25th century pirate ship. Clara doesn't know how they're doing it, but it seems they are actually making dates.

It goes on for a while.

She has a feeling that things are progressing as planned.

* * *

She's just entering the console room, coming from the inside of the Tardis. The Doctor is looking towards the door and doesn't notice her, as the door opens, a key turning in the lock, and someone enters from outside.

“Welcome home,” the Doctor says distractedly.

Jack smiles. “Did you miss me?”

The Doctor sighs. “Don't be childish.”

Clara meets Jack's eyes over the distance of the room. They both know “Don't be childish” means “yes, I did.”


End file.
